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Jan de Bray (painter) Dutch, c. 1627 - 1688 Head of a Small Boy, c. 1650 oil on copper Overall (oval): 7.5 x 5.9 cm (2 15/16 x 2 5/16 in.) framed: 16.8 x 15.2 cm (6 5/8 x 6 in.) Gift of Maida and George Abrams 1995.74.1 Not on View |
De Bray's diminutive Head of a Small Boy engages the viewer through the subject's intense and serious gaze. Executed in free yet delicate brushstrokes, the work reveals the artist's mastery in rendering details within a restricted space. To help attain this precision, he used a copper support, for its smooth surface provided a perfect ground for his highly refined technique. Traditionally such small portraits were placed in wide ebony frames that helped direct the viewer's eye to the image. De Bray enhanced the illusionism of this work by painting a narrow shadow of the frame along the upper-left curved edge of the picture.
The small scale and oval shape of the portrait, as well as the smooth application of the paint, recall early 17th-century English and French miniatures, particularly in the undifferentiated background color. The young boy's head, for example, does not project a shadow on a rear wall—a rare phenomenon in Dutch cabinet pictures but a common feature in miniatures. In those works, a jewel-like effect was sought, reminiscent of the miniatures' roots in goldsmith practices.
Although the attribution of miniature portraits is often difficult to establish, the way the qualities of the copper support are used to enhance the detailed rendering of the boy's youthful features and attire is characteristic of De Bray's first years of activity. De Bray's Head of a Small Boy may well have been conceived as part of a family series. The boy, who is probably about eight years old, wears a doublet that can be dated to between 1650 and 1655. In this period De Bray often depicted the children of close acquaintances or relatives, and it is possible that the painting portrays Jan's younger brother Joseph.